NEW YORK (AP) — A horse carriage driver was acquitted Monday of animal cruelty in a modern trial about the old-fashioned coaches that meander through New York's Central Park.
A six-person jury found Ian McKeever not guilty of overworking a horse called Ryder, who collapsed en route back to his stable on an 84-degree Fahrenheit (29-degree Celsius) day in August 2022. The horse lay on an avenue near Times Square for nearly an hour as concerned bystanders gathered around and police cooled him with a hose and ice. The animal ultimately got up, to cheers.
McKeever had pleaded not guilty to the . His attorney, Raymond Loving, said the horse wasn't overtaxed and simply tripped while changing lanes on a Manhattan street.
“The verdict was very gratifying. This has been an ordeal for him,†Loving said by phone, adding that “the evidence just didn’t support the charge.â€
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that prosecutors presented “a thorough case based on the facts and evidence.â€
Featured in countless movies and TV shows, New York's horse carriages are popular with visitors and people celebrating special occasions. But animal rights advocates have long , and the issue became a for a time about a decade ago.
Anti-coach activists question the horses' treatment and contend that Manhattan streets are no place for equines, pointing to some and collapses over the years. Enthusiasts say the carriages are a time-honored tourist draw that employs several hundred drivers and creates a that might otherwise be slaughtered.
McKeever, an Irish immigrant, has been a carriage driver for decades. His brother owned Ryder.
A horse-carriage-industry veterinarian, Dr. Camilo Sierra, told jurors he estimated Ryder's age at 28 to 30, eventually settling on 26 — the maximum age at which carriage-pullers can legally work. Police Sgt. Vincent Fontana testified that McKeever told him the horse was 13.
Ryder was outside for over seven hours on Aug. 10, 2022, mostly in Central Park, taking passengers on two trips over the course of the day.
Passerby Caroline Londahl-Smidt testified that she worried after noticing his prominent ribs and seeing him seem to struggle up a hill, with McKeever shaking the reins in an apparent effort to hurry the horse along.
Prosecutor Sophie Robart argued that McKeever “pushed Ryder beyond his limits†until the horse's body gave out.
After Ryder left the park and collapsed, bystander video showed McKeever snapping the reins at him and telling him to get up.
McKeever's lawyer maintained that Ryder wasn't overheated or mistreated, and that the driver acted responsibly. McKeever, 56, testified that he strove to get the animal to stand because prolonged reclining can cause health problems for equines.
Ryder’s temperature was normal and his breathing rate was slightly elevated when Fontana measured it, after the horse had been hosed down for some time. Later that evening at the stable, Sierra found Ryder alert, with normal vital signs, but he noted the underweight horse walked weakly. The veterinarian said he believed the animal had a neurological problem.
Two months after the collapse, an ailing Ryder was euthanized. A necropsy showed he had bone cancer.
Carriage drivers' union shop steward Christina Hansen said Monday that the union has since taken steps, including improving access to a horse hospital. Drivers "enter this line of work because we love animals,†she said.
Animal rights activists, meanwhile, continued to inveigh against the industry. Edita Birnkrant, who runs an anti-horse-carriage group called NYCLASS, called the verdict “heartbreaking" and renewed a call for the city to stop issuing new carriage driver licenses.
Another Manhattan carriage driver was charged with animal cruelty in 2013 after authorities said he kept a horse working for days with an injured hoof. That driver pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a noncriminal violation, and was sentenced to community service, according to news reports. Court records of his case are sealed.
